I truly enjoyed my time at the Illinois Computing Educators Conference last week. It's always great to have a chance to engage in real conversations with innovative educators, instead of exchanging ideas through tweets and emails! And of course, it's fantastic to meet so many educators who are passionate about using technology as a tool for learning. I attended some really great sessions and I also facilitated some sessions, but I was truly re-enerergized by the conversations that happened along the way. These deep and extended conversations happen best when educators go outside the walls of their schools and gather together in person to share ideas. Of course, if you weren't able to attend ICE15, there's still a lot to be learned by exploring the wealth of resources that were created and published by those who presented. Here are 3 interactive resources I shared at #ICE15.

Every year at this time of year I get excited about attending the Illinois Computing Educators Conference, #ICE15, in Chicagoland! I love the energy and excitement that forward thinking educators bring to this event. I will be bringing plenty of ThingLink bling to share at the social events, as well as hosting some sessions. Here is what I have planned while I'm there.

ThingLink is pleased to announce the winners of our first 3 Science Creative Challenges. With many amazing images to choose from, it was very difficult to choose one winner from each category. The tie-breaking factor in each case came down to the level of student engagement. The winners of each of these challenges will be awarded 3 Premium EDU accounts to give to teachers at their school. Congratulations to Laura Moore, Christi Collins and Patricia Merlino! Many thanks to everyone who submitted an image.

--> Click the ThingLink Creative Challenges icon on any of the images above to explore, or go to the ThingLink Blog to explore all three winning images.

ThingLink has created a fabulous new heart icon just in time for Valentine's Day! Why not create some interactive Valentines to share a little love and express your feelings with more than just words.
Start with a photo or image, add tags with text, video, audio or weblinks, and experience the power of this multimedia rich tool!

If you are an educator who uses the STEM or STEAM model to provide students with project based learning experiences, you might want to try using ThingLink to power your projects. Not only will you discover the endless possibilities that exist for using this flexible tool, if you submit your project to one of the ThingLink Creative Challenges you can win a prize!Currently there are four education related challenges to choose from, each focusing on STEAM and the related disciplines. All of the challenges are available on the Creative Challenges site.

Great news! ThingLink has recently launched the SuperBowl Creative Challenge, inviting all users over the age of 18 to share your SuperBowl story through an interactive image. All entries will be entered in a random drawing to win a $200 Amazon Gift Card.